The Tunisian Union of Private Biologists, Friday December 12, 2025, urged the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) to immediately pay the amounts owed to medical laboratories, after payment delays reaching five to six months.
The organization accuses the Fund of repeated violations of the contractual agreement, jeopardizing the continuity of analyzes and the quality of the diagnosis offered to patients.
Delays that threaten the survival of laboratories
According to the union, the accumulation of arrears prevents private laboratories from honoring their financial commitments to suppliers, taxation and social security. This pressure endangers their daily functioning and could compromise patients’ access to reliable analyses, medical biology being a central axis of diagnosis, clinical monitoring and prevention.
Obsolete reimbursement scale and unfulfilled commitments
The biologists also denounce the refusal of the CNAM to update the reimbursement scale for analyses, although provided for by the framework agreement and aligned with the new list of medical procedures published by the Ministry of Health. They claim that the current scale no longer corresponds to the real cost of exams, worsening the financial difficulties of the sector.
An urgent call for global dialogue
Faced with the crisis, the union is calling for the immediate opening of a “serious and global” consultation bringing together health and social security stakeholders. The organization recalls that the sectoral agreement expires at the end of the year, without renewal to date despite several negotiation attempts. Biologists warn of the risks of an unbalanced health system if the situation persists, to the detriment of patients and professionals alike.
Read also
